COLWOOD, B.C. – The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers are one win away from the “3Pete.” A 8-6 win over the Victoria Shamrocks on Tuesday night at the Q Centre has the Lakers up 3-1 in the Mann Cup. A win in game five on Wednesday would be the third consecutive national championship for the franchise.
Jake Withers led the way with a pair of goals and 13 wins on 18 faceoffs.
“If we don’t get that fourth win then none of this matters,” he said. “It’s just another day in the office. Nothing’s set in stone yet so we’re going to come back tomorrow with the same mindset.”
If necessary, game six is Friday and game seven Saturday. All games begin at 7 p.m./10 p.m. EDT.
Chris Wardle opened the game’s scoring on a power play at 5:27 but Withers responded 10 seconds later, winning the draw and outrunning the Shamrocks’ defenders to tie the game at one. The Lakers then scored three times in just over three minutes for a 4-1 lead. Casey Jackson got one back for Victoria but once again, Withers answered right away. This time, he was chased around the net, checked, and threw a backhand past Pete Dubenski while falling.
“The draw team did a good job trying to clear a lane for me,” he praised. “It was kind of a lucky shot if I’m going to be honest. But any chance I can contribute and even it up especially after a goal there is good.”
The Lakers continued putting the pressure on the Shamrocks in the second, outscoring them 3-1. Victoria outscored the Lakers 3-0 in the third period but wouldn’t draw any closer than two goals.
Wardle had two goals for the Shamrocks. Pete Dubenski and Cody Hagedorn split time in the Shamrocks’ goal, with Dubenski stopping 24 and Hagedorn 17.
Mike Poulin made 33 saves for the Lakers.
NOTES: Holden Cattoni sat out game four as Corey Small drew back in the lineup. Matt Vinc has yet to join the Lakers as he and his wife await the arrival of their second child. Shawn Evans passed John Grant Jr. for second place on the all-time Mann Cup scoring list with 176 points. John Tavares holds first place with 203 points.
Scoring for the Lakers:
Jake Withers (2-0)
Kyle Buchanan (1-3)
Shawn Evans (1-2)
Turner Evans (1-0)
Corey Small (1-0)
Mark Matthews (1-0)
Chad Tutton (1-0)
Josh Currier (0-1)
Joe Resetarits (0-1)
Zach Currier (0-1)